Posted by James Parks to AFL-CIO NOW
The union movement’s nationwide drive to get at least 1 million signatures in support of the Employee Free Choice Act is gaining momentum. In just four months, nearly 300,000 people have signed postcards to tell the new president and Congress that working families across
The cards will be presented to the new Congress after the November elections in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. (You can show your support for the Employee Free Choice Act by clicking here to sign our online card.)
Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Larry Cohen, who chairs the AFL-CIO Organizing Committee, says:
“The corporate bullies who are scared to death of the Employee Free Choice Act have millions of dollars to spend to try to defeat it. Our side has millions of working families who are fed up with having their rights stomped on, and our postcard campaign is one way we will make that abundantly clear to lawmakers.”
Joe Barca, president of CWA Local 1103 in
“Working people have had both hands tied behind our backs by the National Labor Relations Board and it has made it difficult to form and join unions. The Employee Free Choice Act would allow our democracy to be democratic.
“I grew up in the 1950s and every working person on my block was a union member. Now my wife and I are the only ones on our block. It’s got to change and the Employee Free Choice Act, I believe, will turn it around. “
Some 875 of Local 1103’s 1,500 members already have signed cards, Barca adds, and the goal is for all of the members to sign. “This is too important” to get just a small percentage of signatures, he says.
The AFL-CIO Executive Council voted in March to launch the Million-Member Mobilization. In a statement, the council lays out the urgent need to pass the bill:
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“More and more Americans are beginning to understand that collective bargaining can promote broadly shared economic growth and prosperity, higher wages, better jobs, better and more extensive health care coverage, retirement security and respect for workers on the job.”
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